Editor’s Note: This story was originally published June 4, 2024.
Duke Blue Devils star Kyle Filipowski is a talented, versatile big man who can help space the floor and impact winning at the next level.
Filipowski is widely considered one of the top players at his position in this class. After averaging 16.4 points with 8.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a sophomore, he was named as a consensus second-team All-American.
He told For The Win during a recent video interview that he has the unique ability as a big man who can dribble, pass, and shoot.
“It gives teams a lot to do with me. I’m very adaptable. I’m very coachable,” Filipowski said. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m going to be able to do it just because of that uniqueness in my skills.”
The former Duke star measured just short of 6-foot-11 in socks at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine. His shuttle run (2.93 seconds) was near the best among all players at his position.
His versatility during his collegiate career puts him in unique company as a top-tier prospect.
“I’m very disciplined with what I need to be doing in order to take my body to the next level in order to play at the NBA stage,” Filipowski explained. “I’m excited for the spacing just to expand my range on 3-pointers because I know that’s going to help a lot with my passing and my facilitating as well if I get that more dangerous for teams.”
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Watch Episode 2 of Prospect Park, a video series featuring future NBA players brought to you by USA TODAY Sports and For The Win:
How helpful will it be to have a fully healthy offseason?
That’s going to be huge. Like you said, right after we lost in the tournament my freshman year at Duke, I got double bilateral hip surgery two weeks later, if that. That was a really hard decision for me to make because I knew I wasn’t going to have an offseason to develop and take off but ultimately, it was the best decision for me because now I’m feeling fantastic with where my body is at and I’m super excited to now have that offseason to get stronger and just work on my body even more now. Even now, every day, my body is getting better than it was. It’s not even at its full peak yet. So having this full offseason is going to be huge for me and I’m looking forward to it.
What should NBA teams know about you?
I’m not even at my fullest potential. I’m not even at my best yet. That comes with physicality and my skill set, of course. I think a lot of players can say that but for me, my upside is a whole lot more because of that hip surgery. I’m still getting better from that every day. So the strides and leaps I can take with that, they’ll get a guy that is going to be a dangerous player that loves competing and loves playing the game. Those are the biggest things for me.
How does your basketball IQ impact winning?
I’m a big learner of the game. I love watching basketball. I love watching the playoffs right now and seeing and reading all of these things that players are doing. It’s just so exciting for me. I know what I’m capable of and obviously college is a whole different style of play than the NBA and I feel like my style of play suits the NBA so much better. With that IQ coming into play, being able to facilitate and with the spacing and just reading and reacting, the defense will be so much easier in my opinion with my IQ.
What is your ideal role in the NBA?
I think what I love to do is just space the floor. I think that opens up a lot for myself and for my teammates. Starting on the perimeter, that gives me the ability to drive the ball and kick it out to the shooters or even pass it off to the five man like a Dereck Likely. Doing that at my size and also being able to space the floor and let the five man go to work inside or let the guards attack and facilitate, and they don’t have to worry about an extra defender because my defender will stay on me because of my 3-point ability as well. That’s the kind of stuff I’m looking forward to.
What are some of your goals?
Definitely going right into this year is Rookie of the Year. I don’t think that’s out of my reach at all. If I should play the way I’m capable of, there is no question I should be in that conversation. But ultimately, wherever I go, I just want to help that team win. Winning is the most important thing for me and I know that with what comes with that is those individual accolades and just being able to do that and work for those types of goals is very important to me.
How would you rate your competitiveness?
I would say an 11 out of 10. I’m so competitive when it comes to playing and winning. I never want to lose and if I fall short, I’ll go right back at it. So just bringing that competitiveness and that personality to a team will be big. That’s just something that makes me such a special player.
How would you describe your personality?
I would say it’s a very joyful but passionate person. Obviously, if you do the right things playing in a competitive game, you can get me fired up. But at the same time, just being a very joyful guy and enjoying the process and embracing it all because this is what I love to do every day.
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